Dom,
The garage should put in either a 5w-40 full synthetiuc or a 10w-40 semi synthetic, the fully is usually always a better choice.
It is normally cheaper to take your own oil, plus you get to choose what you want, but it is up to you.
Cheers
Guy.
Oil advice and recommendations
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Any major name will suffice however for exceptional quality, I would suggest the Silkolene or Motul here http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htmDom wrote:Thanks for that...
any particular brand or would any of the major names suffice?
Cheers
Guy.
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I have a BMW E30 325i, It has 119k on the clock and runs sweet at a nut. (touching wood now)
I gave the car a major service 4000 miles ago and replaced the oil with Eurolight 10w-40 semi synthetic which seems to be a good choice at around Ԛ£17 (5 litres)
Would there be any advantage to using a fully synthetic?
Can you just switch to a fully after the cars been running on semi or non synthetic.
The car has everyday use (50miles) and about 1 long trip a month aswell as about 2 track days a year.
What are your thoughts, i don't want to move to a fully unless there is a considerable advantage to doing this.
Thanks in advance
Pete
I gave the car a major service 4000 miles ago and replaced the oil with Eurolight 10w-40 semi synthetic which seems to be a good choice at around Ԛ£17 (5 litres)
Would there be any advantage to using a fully synthetic?
Can you just switch to a fully after the cars been running on semi or non synthetic.
The car has everyday use (50miles) and about 1 long trip a month aswell as about 2 track days a year.
What are your thoughts, i don't want to move to a fully unless there is a considerable advantage to doing this.
Thanks in advance
Pete
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oilman
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Pete,
If you were to move to a full synthetic I would look at a good 5w-40 or 10w-40. As for the Pros and cons of moving to a synthetic, read this.
SYNTHETICS vs MINERALS
Oil is the lifeblood of your vehicle's engine. For decades conventional petroleum oils have been providing adequate protection for all of our vehicles.
The key word here is adequate. Petroleum oils, for the most part, have done an adequate job of protecting our engines from break down. If you change it often enough, you can be relatively sure that your car will last 100,000 to 150,000 miles without a serious engine problem - maybe even longer.
The real question is, why settle for adequate when something better has been available for about 30 years?
Today's engines are built for better performance, and, although petroleum oils are designed for better protection and performance today than they were 10 or 20 years ago, there is only so much that can be done. Today's engines need high performance lubricants, and the only true ones available are synthetics.
Conventional petroleum oils are insufficient for use in today's vehicles primarily because they are manufactured from a refined substance, contain paraffins (wax), sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, water, salts and certain metals. All of these contaminants must be refined out of the basestock in order for it to be useful for use within a lubricant.
Unfortunately, no refining process is perfect. Impurities will always remain when any refining process is done. It simply isn't economical to continue to refine the oil again and again to remove more impurities. If this was done, petroleum oils would cost as much as synthetic oils do.
There are many components of petroleum oil basestocks which are completely unnecessary for protecting your engine. They do absolutely nothing to enhance the lubrication properties of the oil. In fact, most of these contaminants are actually harmful to your oil and your engine.
Some of the chemicals in conventional petroleum lubricants break down at temperatures well within the normal operating temperature range of your engine. Others are prone to break down in these relatively mild temperatures only if oxygen is present. But, this is invariably the case anyway, especially since oxygen is one of the contaminants within petroleum basestocks.
These thermally and oxidatively unstable contaminants do absolutely nothing to aid in the lubrication process. They are only present in conventional petroleum oils because removing them would be impossible or excessively expensive.
When thermal or oxidative break down of petroleum oil occurs, it leaves engine components coated with varnish, deposits and sludge. In addition, the lubricant which is left is thick, hard to pump and maintains little heat transfer ability.
In addition, petroleum oils contain paraffins which cause dramatic oil thickening in cold temperatures. Even with the addition of pour point depressant additives, most petroleum oils will begin to thicken at temperatures 10 to 40 degrees warmer than synthetic oils.
As a result, petroleum lubricants will not readily circulate through your engine's oil system during cold weather. This may leave engine parts unprotected for minutes after startup. Obviously, significant wear can occur during this time frame.
Even when all conditions are perfect for conventional oils to do their job, they fall far short of synthetic oils. Part of the problem is that (because of their refined nature) petroleum oils are composed of molecules which vary greatly in size. As the oil flows through your vehicle's lubrication system, the small, light molecules tend to flow in the center of the oil stream while the large, heavy ones adhere to metal surfaces where they create a barrier against heat movement from the component to the oil stream. In effect, the large, heavy molecules work like a blanket around hot components.
There is also another effect of the non-uniformity of petroleum oil molecules which reduces their effectiveness. Uniformly smooth molecules slip over one another with relative ease. This is not the case with molecules of differing size.
Theoretically, it might be somewhat similar to putting one layer of marbles on top of another (if this could easily be done). If the marbles were all of the same size, they would move over one another fairly easily. However, if they were all of differing sizes, the result would be much less efficient.
In the case of petroleum oils this inefficiency leads, ironically, to added friction in the system (the very thing that lubricants are supposed to reduce). Hence, petroleum oils are only marginally capable of controlling heat in your engine. Considering that motor oil does nearly 50% of the cooling of your engine, that's not a good thing. But,
This being said, petroleum oils are Ԛ“adequateԚâ€a for the purpose of protecting your engine, if you don't mind a shorter vehicle lifespan, inconvenient oil changes, or decreased engine performance. Under normal circumstances, most vehicles lubricated with petroleum oil should run satisfactorily for 100,000 to 150,000 miles without serious incidence.
If you like the hassle of changing your oil regularly, and you are only looking for marginal performance for the next 100,000 miles or so, petroleum oils are definitely the way to go.
Assuming that you don't relish the idea of changing your oil every 2,000 miles or and are looking to keep your Ԛ“pride and joyԚâ€a in tip-top condition then these are the main areas where synthetic oils surpass their petroleum counterparts.
Oil drains can be extended
Vehicle life can be extended
Costly repairs can be reduced
Fuel mileage can be improved
Performance can be improved
Synthetic basestock molecules are pure and of uniform size. This is because synthetic basestocks are designed from the ground up with the sole purpose of protecting your engine. Nothing is added if it does not significantly contribute to the lubricating ability of the oil.
In addition, in top-quality synthetics, no component is added which might be contaminated with any substance that might lessen the lubricating qualities of the oil. In other words, manufacturers of these premium synthetics implement very strict quality control measures to insure no contamination.
Not only that, synthetic basestocks are designed so that the molecules are of uniform size and weight. In addition, synthetic basestock molecules are short-chain molecules which are much more stable than the long-chain molecules that petroleum basestocks are made of. This significantly adds to the lubricating qualities and stability of the oil.
EXTENDED OIL DRAINS
Stable Basestocks
Synthetic oils are designed from pure, uniform synthetic basestocks, they contain no contaminants or unstable molecules which are prone to thermal and oxidative break down.
Moreover, because of their uniform molecular structure, synthetic lubricants operate with less internal and external friction than petroleum oils which have the non-uniform molecular structure. The result is better heat control, and less heat means less stress to the lubricant.
Higher Percentage of Basestock
Synthetic oils contain a higher percentage of lubricant basestock than petroleum oils do.
This is because multi-viscosity oils need a great deal of pour point depressant and viscosity modifying additives in order to be sold as multi-viscosity oils.
Synthetic oils, require very little in the way of pour point depressants and viscosity modifiers. Therefore, synthetic oils can contain a higher percentage of basestock, which actually does most of the lubricating anyway. More basestock leads to longer motor oil life.
Additives Used Up More Slowly
Petroleum basestocks are much more prone to oxidation than synthetic oils, oxidation inhibitors are needed in greater supply and are used up very quickly. Synthetic oils do oxidize, but at a much slower rate therefore, oxidation inhibiting additives are used up much more slowly.
Synthetic oils provide for better ring seal than petroleum oils do. This minimizes blow-by and reduces contamination by combustion by-products. As a result, corrosion inhibiting additives have less work to do and will last much longer than within a petroleum oil.
Excellent Heat Tolerance
Synthetics are simply more tolerant to extreme heat than petroleum oils are. When heat builds up within an engine, petroleum oils quickly begin to burn off. They volatize. In other words, the lighter molecules within petroleum oils turn to gas and what's left are the large petroleum oil molecules that are harder to pump.
Synthetics are resistant to this burn-off. They will tolerate much higher engine temperatures.
EXTENDED VEHICLE LIFE WITH FEWER REPAIRS
Heat Reduction
More often than not, vehicle life is determined by engine life. One of the major factors affecting engine life is component wear and/or failure, which is often the result of high temperature operation. The uniformly smooth molecular structure of synthetic oils gives them a much lower coefficient of friction (they slip more easily over one another causing less friction) than petroleum oils.
Less friction, of course, means less heat in the system. And, since heat is a major contributor to engine component wear and failure, synthetic oils significantly reduce these two detrimental effects.
In addition, because of their uniform molecular structure, synthetic oils do not cause the "blanket effect" which was mentioned earlier. Since each molecule in a synthetic oil is of uniform size, each is equally likely to touch a component surface at any given time, thus moving a certain amount of heat into the oil stream and away from the component. This makes synthetic oils far superior heat transfer agents than conventional petroleum oils.
Greater Film Strength
Petroleum motor oils have very low film strength in comparison to synthetics. The film strength of a lubricant refers to it's ability to maintain a film of lubricant between two objects when extreme pressure and heat are applied.
Synthetic oils will typically have a film strength of 500% to 1000% higher than petroleum oils of comparable viscosity. In fact, believe it or not, even though heavier weight oils typically have higher film strength than lighter weight oils, a 0w30 or 5w-40 weight synthetic oil will likely have higher film strength than a 15w40 or 20w50 petroleum oil.
Thus, even with a lighter weight oil, you can still maintain proper lubricity and reduce the chance of metal to metal contact when using a synthetic oil. Of course, that means that you can use oils that provide far better fuel efficiency and cold weather protection without sacrificing engine protection under high temperature, high load conditions. Obviously, this is a big plus, because you can greatly reduce both cold temperature start-up wear and high temperature/high load engine wear using the same low viscosity oil.
Engine Deposit Reduction
In discussing some of the pitfalls of petroleum oil use, engine cleanliness is certainly an issue. Petroleum oils tend to leave sludge, varnish and deposits behind after thermal and oxidative break down. They're better than they used to be, but it still occurs.
Deposit build-up leads to a significant reduction in engine performance and engine life as well as increasing the number of costly repairs that are necessary. Since synthetic oils have far superior thermal and oxidative stability than petroleum oils, they leave engines virtually varnish, deposit and sludge-free.
Better Cold Temperature Fluidity
Synthetic oils and other lubricants do not contain paraffins or other waxes which dramatically thicken petroleum oils during cold weather. As a result, they tend to flow much better during cold temperature starts and begin lubricating an engine almost immediately. This leads to significant engine wear reduction, and, therefore, longer engine life and fewer costly repairs.
IMPROVED FUEL MILEAGE AND PERFORMANCE
As indicated earlier, synthetic oils, because of their uniform molecular structure, are tremendous friction reducers. Less friction leads to increased fuel economy and improved engine performance.
Any energy released from the combustion process that would normally be lost to friction can now be transferred directly to the wheels, providing movement.
Vehicle acceleration becomes swifter and more powerful while using less fuel in the process.
The uniform molecular structure of synthetic oils has another performance enhancing benefit as well. In a petroleum oil, lighter molecules tend to boil off easily, leaving behind much heavier molecules which are difficult to pump. Certainly, the engine loses more energy pumping these heavy molecules than if it were pumping lighter ones.
Since synthetic oils have more uniform molecules, fewer of these molecules tend to boil off.
More importantly, when they do, the molecules which are left are of the same size and pumpability is not affected.
Cheers
Guy.
If you were to move to a full synthetic I would look at a good 5w-40 or 10w-40. As for the Pros and cons of moving to a synthetic, read this.
SYNTHETICS vs MINERALS
Oil is the lifeblood of your vehicle's engine. For decades conventional petroleum oils have been providing adequate protection for all of our vehicles.
The key word here is adequate. Petroleum oils, for the most part, have done an adequate job of protecting our engines from break down. If you change it often enough, you can be relatively sure that your car will last 100,000 to 150,000 miles without a serious engine problem - maybe even longer.
The real question is, why settle for adequate when something better has been available for about 30 years?
Today's engines are built for better performance, and, although petroleum oils are designed for better protection and performance today than they were 10 or 20 years ago, there is only so much that can be done. Today's engines need high performance lubricants, and the only true ones available are synthetics.
Conventional petroleum oils are insufficient for use in today's vehicles primarily because they are manufactured from a refined substance, contain paraffins (wax), sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, water, salts and certain metals. All of these contaminants must be refined out of the basestock in order for it to be useful for use within a lubricant.
Unfortunately, no refining process is perfect. Impurities will always remain when any refining process is done. It simply isn't economical to continue to refine the oil again and again to remove more impurities. If this was done, petroleum oils would cost as much as synthetic oils do.
There are many components of petroleum oil basestocks which are completely unnecessary for protecting your engine. They do absolutely nothing to enhance the lubrication properties of the oil. In fact, most of these contaminants are actually harmful to your oil and your engine.
Some of the chemicals in conventional petroleum lubricants break down at temperatures well within the normal operating temperature range of your engine. Others are prone to break down in these relatively mild temperatures only if oxygen is present. But, this is invariably the case anyway, especially since oxygen is one of the contaminants within petroleum basestocks.
These thermally and oxidatively unstable contaminants do absolutely nothing to aid in the lubrication process. They are only present in conventional petroleum oils because removing them would be impossible or excessively expensive.
When thermal or oxidative break down of petroleum oil occurs, it leaves engine components coated with varnish, deposits and sludge. In addition, the lubricant which is left is thick, hard to pump and maintains little heat transfer ability.
In addition, petroleum oils contain paraffins which cause dramatic oil thickening in cold temperatures. Even with the addition of pour point depressant additives, most petroleum oils will begin to thicken at temperatures 10 to 40 degrees warmer than synthetic oils.
As a result, petroleum lubricants will not readily circulate through your engine's oil system during cold weather. This may leave engine parts unprotected for minutes after startup. Obviously, significant wear can occur during this time frame.
Even when all conditions are perfect for conventional oils to do their job, they fall far short of synthetic oils. Part of the problem is that (because of their refined nature) petroleum oils are composed of molecules which vary greatly in size. As the oil flows through your vehicle's lubrication system, the small, light molecules tend to flow in the center of the oil stream while the large, heavy ones adhere to metal surfaces where they create a barrier against heat movement from the component to the oil stream. In effect, the large, heavy molecules work like a blanket around hot components.
There is also another effect of the non-uniformity of petroleum oil molecules which reduces their effectiveness. Uniformly smooth molecules slip over one another with relative ease. This is not the case with molecules of differing size.
Theoretically, it might be somewhat similar to putting one layer of marbles on top of another (if this could easily be done). If the marbles were all of the same size, they would move over one another fairly easily. However, if they were all of differing sizes, the result would be much less efficient.
In the case of petroleum oils this inefficiency leads, ironically, to added friction in the system (the very thing that lubricants are supposed to reduce). Hence, petroleum oils are only marginally capable of controlling heat in your engine. Considering that motor oil does nearly 50% of the cooling of your engine, that's not a good thing. But,
This being said, petroleum oils are Ԛ“adequateԚâ€a for the purpose of protecting your engine, if you don't mind a shorter vehicle lifespan, inconvenient oil changes, or decreased engine performance. Under normal circumstances, most vehicles lubricated with petroleum oil should run satisfactorily for 100,000 to 150,000 miles without serious incidence.
If you like the hassle of changing your oil regularly, and you are only looking for marginal performance for the next 100,000 miles or so, petroleum oils are definitely the way to go.
Assuming that you don't relish the idea of changing your oil every 2,000 miles or and are looking to keep your Ԛ“pride and joyԚâ€a in tip-top condition then these are the main areas where synthetic oils surpass their petroleum counterparts.
Oil drains can be extended
Vehicle life can be extended
Costly repairs can be reduced
Fuel mileage can be improved
Performance can be improved
Synthetic basestock molecules are pure and of uniform size. This is because synthetic basestocks are designed from the ground up with the sole purpose of protecting your engine. Nothing is added if it does not significantly contribute to the lubricating ability of the oil.
In addition, in top-quality synthetics, no component is added which might be contaminated with any substance that might lessen the lubricating qualities of the oil. In other words, manufacturers of these premium synthetics implement very strict quality control measures to insure no contamination.
Not only that, synthetic basestocks are designed so that the molecules are of uniform size and weight. In addition, synthetic basestock molecules are short-chain molecules which are much more stable than the long-chain molecules that petroleum basestocks are made of. This significantly adds to the lubricating qualities and stability of the oil.
EXTENDED OIL DRAINS
Stable Basestocks
Synthetic oils are designed from pure, uniform synthetic basestocks, they contain no contaminants or unstable molecules which are prone to thermal and oxidative break down.
Moreover, because of their uniform molecular structure, synthetic lubricants operate with less internal and external friction than petroleum oils which have the non-uniform molecular structure. The result is better heat control, and less heat means less stress to the lubricant.
Higher Percentage of Basestock
Synthetic oils contain a higher percentage of lubricant basestock than petroleum oils do.
This is because multi-viscosity oils need a great deal of pour point depressant and viscosity modifying additives in order to be sold as multi-viscosity oils.
Synthetic oils, require very little in the way of pour point depressants and viscosity modifiers. Therefore, synthetic oils can contain a higher percentage of basestock, which actually does most of the lubricating anyway. More basestock leads to longer motor oil life.
Additives Used Up More Slowly
Petroleum basestocks are much more prone to oxidation than synthetic oils, oxidation inhibitors are needed in greater supply and are used up very quickly. Synthetic oils do oxidize, but at a much slower rate therefore, oxidation inhibiting additives are used up much more slowly.
Synthetic oils provide for better ring seal than petroleum oils do. This minimizes blow-by and reduces contamination by combustion by-products. As a result, corrosion inhibiting additives have less work to do and will last much longer than within a petroleum oil.
Excellent Heat Tolerance
Synthetics are simply more tolerant to extreme heat than petroleum oils are. When heat builds up within an engine, petroleum oils quickly begin to burn off. They volatize. In other words, the lighter molecules within petroleum oils turn to gas and what's left are the large petroleum oil molecules that are harder to pump.
Synthetics are resistant to this burn-off. They will tolerate much higher engine temperatures.
EXTENDED VEHICLE LIFE WITH FEWER REPAIRS
Heat Reduction
More often than not, vehicle life is determined by engine life. One of the major factors affecting engine life is component wear and/or failure, which is often the result of high temperature operation. The uniformly smooth molecular structure of synthetic oils gives them a much lower coefficient of friction (they slip more easily over one another causing less friction) than petroleum oils.
Less friction, of course, means less heat in the system. And, since heat is a major contributor to engine component wear and failure, synthetic oils significantly reduce these two detrimental effects.
In addition, because of their uniform molecular structure, synthetic oils do not cause the "blanket effect" which was mentioned earlier. Since each molecule in a synthetic oil is of uniform size, each is equally likely to touch a component surface at any given time, thus moving a certain amount of heat into the oil stream and away from the component. This makes synthetic oils far superior heat transfer agents than conventional petroleum oils.
Greater Film Strength
Petroleum motor oils have very low film strength in comparison to synthetics. The film strength of a lubricant refers to it's ability to maintain a film of lubricant between two objects when extreme pressure and heat are applied.
Synthetic oils will typically have a film strength of 500% to 1000% higher than petroleum oils of comparable viscosity. In fact, believe it or not, even though heavier weight oils typically have higher film strength than lighter weight oils, a 0w30 or 5w-40 weight synthetic oil will likely have higher film strength than a 15w40 or 20w50 petroleum oil.
Thus, even with a lighter weight oil, you can still maintain proper lubricity and reduce the chance of metal to metal contact when using a synthetic oil. Of course, that means that you can use oils that provide far better fuel efficiency and cold weather protection without sacrificing engine protection under high temperature, high load conditions. Obviously, this is a big plus, because you can greatly reduce both cold temperature start-up wear and high temperature/high load engine wear using the same low viscosity oil.
Engine Deposit Reduction
In discussing some of the pitfalls of petroleum oil use, engine cleanliness is certainly an issue. Petroleum oils tend to leave sludge, varnish and deposits behind after thermal and oxidative break down. They're better than they used to be, but it still occurs.
Deposit build-up leads to a significant reduction in engine performance and engine life as well as increasing the number of costly repairs that are necessary. Since synthetic oils have far superior thermal and oxidative stability than petroleum oils, they leave engines virtually varnish, deposit and sludge-free.
Better Cold Temperature Fluidity
Synthetic oils and other lubricants do not contain paraffins or other waxes which dramatically thicken petroleum oils during cold weather. As a result, they tend to flow much better during cold temperature starts and begin lubricating an engine almost immediately. This leads to significant engine wear reduction, and, therefore, longer engine life and fewer costly repairs.
IMPROVED FUEL MILEAGE AND PERFORMANCE
As indicated earlier, synthetic oils, because of their uniform molecular structure, are tremendous friction reducers. Less friction leads to increased fuel economy and improved engine performance.
Any energy released from the combustion process that would normally be lost to friction can now be transferred directly to the wheels, providing movement.
Vehicle acceleration becomes swifter and more powerful while using less fuel in the process.
The uniform molecular structure of synthetic oils has another performance enhancing benefit as well. In a petroleum oil, lighter molecules tend to boil off easily, leaving behind much heavier molecules which are difficult to pump. Certainly, the engine loses more energy pumping these heavy molecules than if it were pumping lighter ones.
Since synthetic oils have more uniform molecules, fewer of these molecules tend to boil off.
More importantly, when they do, the molecules which are left are of the same size and pumpability is not affected.
Cheers
Guy.
Use the code E30Z and get 10% Club Discount
oilman's website for engine oil and much more - register for news and offers
email: sales@opieoils.co.uk
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oilman
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Some group buy prices now up here:
http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... hlight=oil
We need 10 orders to make it worthwhile.
Cheers
Simon
http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... hlight=oil
We need 10 orders to make it worthwhile.
Cheers
Simon
Use the code E30Z and get 10% Club Discount
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email: sales@opieoils.co.uk
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Guest
Simon,
Can you confirm whether you can change direct from mineral oil to synth/semi synth without an intermediate flush?
Also can you use synthetic in old (50s) petrol engines (not BMW).
Mike
Can you confirm whether you can change direct from mineral oil to synth/semi synth without an intermediate flush?
Also can you use synthetic in old (50s) petrol engines (not BMW).
Mike
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oilman
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Mike,mike325i wrote:Simon,
Can you confirm whether you can change direct from mineral oil to synth/semi synth without an intermediate flush?
Also can you use synthetic in old (50s) petrol engines (not BMW).
Mike
Yes you can move from semi synthetic to synthetic no problem, you just need to drain out as much of the old stuff as possible.
Yes synthetics can work well in old engines, what do you have??
Cheers
Simon.
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Guest
Simon,
It's for a Triumph TR3/4 engine. Original spec (monogrades) was 20/20W around freezing conditions and 40 at air temps over 70degC but most people nowadays use 20W-50.
Mike
It's for a Triumph TR3/4 engine. Original spec (monogrades) was 20/20W around freezing conditions and 40 at air temps over 70degC but most people nowadays use 20W-50.
Mike
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oilman
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You certainly could use a good ole 20w-50 such as Silkolene Silkolube 20w-50 designed for older engines or if you want something a bit better quality then I would recommend Silkolene PRO R 15w-50.
You find these here: http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm
Cheers
Simon
You find these here: http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm
Cheers
Simon
Use the code E30Z and get 10% Club Discount
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I have a 1990 325i SE on 156,000 miles. The cylinder head was replaced approx. 50,000 miles ago. It mainly does short trips, with the odd longer run.
What would be the best oil to use in it? I have been advised agaisnt a fully synthetic oil as have been told it will be too thin.
Any advice greatly appreciated
Cheers,
Greg
What would be the best oil to use in it? I have been advised agaisnt a fully synthetic oil as have been told it will be too thin.
Any advice greatly appreciated
Cheers,
Greg
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oilman
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Greg,austinsom wrote:I have a 1990 325i SE on 156,000 miles. The cylinder head was replaced approx. 50,000 miles ago. It mainly does short trips, with the odd longer run.
What would be the best oil to use in it? I have been advised agaisnt a fully synthetic oil as have been told it will be too thin.
Any advice greatly appreciated
Cheers,
Greg
Dont be scared of synthetics, they are only too thin if you use a very thin grade, synthetics come in all the same viscosities as mineral and semi.
I would either go for a 10w-40 semi synthetic with regular oil changes, or you could go for a 5w-40/10w-50 full synthetic as a top quality option.
Plenty to look at on my site here http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm
For quality look at the Motul and Silkolene ranges.
Cheers
Guy.
Use the code E30Z and get 10% Club Discount
oilman's website for engine oil and much more - register for news and offers
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right, my turn! what should i put in my engine? it's from a 1990 535i and is in good condition (i.e. no smoke!). i don't know what spec is suggested as i obviously don't have the handbook from the car it came from!
in the old engine i used 20w50 stuff which seemed to make the top end a little quieter. both the old and new engines sounded a little noisier from the top end once the oil was properly hot, any way to lessen this?
i've been told mobil 1 motorsport would be a good idea but i can't remember the viscosity spec.
at the mo it has semi synth 10-40 in, but that was only to get it running and to clear the old stuff out, i want to change it soon. what do you recommend? for road use in the uk.
cheers,
Toby
in the old engine i used 20w50 stuff which seemed to make the top end a little quieter. both the old and new engines sounded a little noisier from the top end once the oil was properly hot, any way to lessen this?
i've been told mobil 1 motorsport would be a good idea but i can't remember the viscosity spec.
at the mo it has semi synth 10-40 in, but that was only to get it running and to clear the old stuff out, i want to change it soon. what do you recommend? for road use in the uk.
cheers,
Toby
-
Karan
- Married to the E30 Zone
- Posts: 8004
- Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: Cheshunt, Hertfordshire
hi oilman!
Karan here....
what would u recommend for my bmw m20 engine, been rebuilt to 2.7 spec using a 525e crank and custom pistons, performance cam, very modded head, 6 branch approx 220hp....
the car is driven very hard around town and also on the motorway at high revs for quite a while-NB:the engine does have an oil cooler too
thanks
Karan
Karan here....
what would u recommend for my bmw m20 engine, been rebuilt to 2.7 spec using a 525e crank and custom pistons, performance cam, very modded head, 6 branch approx 220hp....
the car is driven very hard around town and also on the motorway at high revs for quite a while-NB:the engine does have an oil cooler too
thanks
Karan
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oilman
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Toby,Toby_Unna wrote:right, my turn! what should i put in my engine? it's from a 1990 535i and is in good condition (i.e. no smoke!). i don't know what spec is suggested as i obviously don't have the handbook from the car it came from!
in the old engine i used 20w50 stuff which seemed to make the top end a little quieter. both the old and new engines sounded a little noisier from the top end once the oil was properly hot, any way to lessen this?
i've been told mobil 1 motorsport would be a good idea but i can't remember the viscosity spec.
at the mo it has semi synth 10-40 in, but that was only to get it running and to clear the old stuff out, i want to change it soon. what do you recommend? for road use in the uk.
cheers,
Toby
I would recommend either 10w-40, 10w-50 or 15w-50.
10w will give better cold start.
Cheers
Guy
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oilman
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Nice car!Karan wrote:hi oilman!
Karan here....
what would u recommend for my bmw m20 engine, been rebuilt to 2.7 spec using a 525e crank and custom pistons, performance cam, very modded head, 6 branch approx 220hp....
the car is driven very hard around town and also on the motorway at high revs for quite a while-NB:the engine does have an oil cooler too
thanks
Karan
As there are no problems with temps, I would recommend a good fully synthetic 5w-40. This will give good cold start, stable high temp protection, better bhp and fuel/oil consumption.
Cheers
Guy
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I feel like I'm commiting some cardinal sin here... I've got (in addition to my E30) a 320i E36 with the twin cam M50 engine. What grade synthetic / semi synthetic would you recommend? I'm due a service this week and I'd like to get it right!
Thanks.
Thanks.
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Scintar,
For the E36, again go for a good 5w-40 synthetic for all year round use.
Plenty to look at here http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm
Cheers
Guy.
For the E36, again go for a good 5w-40 synthetic for all year round use.
Plenty to look at here http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm
Cheers
Guy.
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Treeman612
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Hi - any advice on gearbox oil for std 320i - I checked it the other day, and it came out of filler plug very frothy?? - obviously overfilled? Need to change it sometime soon, is it worth flushing the frothy stuff out with anything b4 I re-fill? Anbd what grade/make recommended for normal road use?
cheers
cheers
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oilman
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For the gearbox a good quality 75w-90 is what is needed.Treeman612 wrote:Hi - any advice on gearbox oil for std 320i - I checked it the other day, and it came out of filler plug very frothy?? - obviously overfilled? Need to change it sometime soon, is it worth flushing the frothy stuff out with anything b4 I re-fill? Anbd what grade/make recommended for normal road use?
cheers
We tend to recomend the Silkolene Syn5 75w-90 as a top quality option.
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/TechSpecs/SIL ... 0Wheel.pdf
This comes in at Ԛ£8.99ltr.
Cheers
Guy.
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Kam320i_cab
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hi mate, what grade oil for a 320i m20 with under 95k on clock, i mainly do town driving with very occasional long journey, and its a bit tappity hehe
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oilman
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I would go for a good quality 5w-40.
Always best to go BMW apporved, ones to look at would be the Motul 8100 range, Fuchs or Silkolene Pro S.
Tech data here http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm
Cheers
Guy.
Always best to go BMW apporved, ones to look at would be the Motul 8100 range, Fuchs or Silkolene Pro S.
Tech data here http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm
Cheers
Guy.
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oilman
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Jibbers,
You have some choices here.
You can go for a 10w-40 semi synthetic or a 5w-40 full synthetic.
The full synthetics are the quality option and would give good cold start protection (80% of wear occurs at this time) but may not quieten the tappets down unless you go for an ester based oil like the Motul 300v 5w-40 or the Silkolene Pro S 5w-40.
As cost option you can go down the semi synthetic route, these will need to be change almost twice as often an ester based synthetic and will not provide as good cold start protection.
If you wanted to just try to keep the tappets quiet then go for a 15w-50 semi synthetic but this will provide very poor cold start protection in the UK climate.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Guy.
You have some choices here.
You can go for a 10w-40 semi synthetic or a 5w-40 full synthetic.
The full synthetics are the quality option and would give good cold start protection (80% of wear occurs at this time) but may not quieten the tappets down unless you go for an ester based oil like the Motul 300v 5w-40 or the Silkolene Pro S 5w-40.
As cost option you can go down the semi synthetic route, these will need to be change almost twice as often an ester based synthetic and will not provide as good cold start protection.
If you wanted to just try to keep the tappets quiet then go for a 15w-50 semi synthetic but this will provide very poor cold start protection in the UK climate.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Guy.
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Simon13
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Hello!
Right can u advise please, i am foolish enough to be going to "the ring" in june so, what oil. We will be driving the car there.
Plus do u do good brake fluid like castrol srf thanks!
Right can u advise please, i am foolish enough to be going to "the ring" in june so, what oil. We will be driving the car there.
Plus do u do good brake fluid like castrol srf thanks!
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Use a race oil like Silkolene PRO S 5w-40 or 10w-50, for the Brakes Motul Racing Brake Fluid.
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/TechSpecs/PRO ... 0Wheel.pdf
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/TechSpecs/Mob ... e_8069.pdf
You could also look at the Motul 300V range here.
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm
Cheers
Simon
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/TechSpecs/PRO ... 0Wheel.pdf
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/TechSpecs/Mob ... e_8069.pdf
You could also look at the Motul 300V range here.
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm
Cheers
Simon
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Treeman612
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Hi, just a quick thanks 4 all the good advice - have now changed my 320i to fully synth engine, gearbox, diff. Definately an improvement on starting and running - it may be my imagination, but I'm d*mn sure it's accelerating better, and gearshift is smoother too!!
Go for it, guys, fully synth is definately worth it.
Go for it, guys, fully synth is definately worth it.
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oilman
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Not imagination, there is a difference - It's better!
Cheers
Simon
Cheers
Simon
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Hi guys just wondered if you could shed some light , have just taken ownership of a 325i tourer , my problem is the low oil press' warning light is on very faint at tickover , have been told it could be the pick up blocked , any ideas?
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oilman
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It could need an oil change,
Depending what has been used before and what is was might be responcible, if it has had a basic mineral multigrade oil in it and has not benn recnently changed then the oil may have sheard down, basically thinning down to dish water, this would give very low pressure.
Or it could be something else
Cheers
Guy.
Depending what has been used before and what is was might be responcible, if it has had a basic mineral multigrade oil in it and has not benn recnently changed then the oil may have sheard down, basically thinning down to dish water, this would give very low pressure.
Or it could be something else
Cheers
Guy.
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oilman
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Mak,
You have a choice.
You can for a 10w-40 semi synthetic or a 5w-40 full synthetic.
For the noisy one I would go for the 10w-40 as this will help keep it quiet, and will need changing every 3k or so.
For the other one, which I assume is in better condition, I would go for a good quality bmw approved 5w-40.
I would look at the Fuchs Titan XTR 10w-40 and the Motul 8100 excess 5w-40.
Tech data here http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Guy
You have a choice.
You can for a 10w-40 semi synthetic or a 5w-40 full synthetic.
For the noisy one I would go for the 10w-40 as this will help keep it quiet, and will need changing every 3k or so.
For the other one, which I assume is in better condition, I would go for a good quality bmw approved 5w-40.
I would look at the Fuchs Titan XTR 10w-40 and the Motul 8100 excess 5w-40.
Tech data here http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Guy
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Cheers Guy. Hello again
I am doin a conversion on my tourer at the weekend.
Removing the M40 and putting in Karans old M42 16v engine with only 60,ooomiles on it.
Engine has been standing for a couple of months and not driven for several more.Ran like a dream before removal.No chain rattle at all starts from really cold beautifully.
Can you recomend some fresh oil for engine and maybe gearbox.
Cheers.....Paul
I am doin a conversion on my tourer at the weekend.
Removing the M40 and putting in Karans old M42 16v engine with only 60,ooomiles on it.
Engine has been standing for a couple of months and not driven for several more.Ran like a dream before removal.No chain rattle at all starts from really cold beautifully.
Can you recomend some fresh oil for engine and maybe gearbox.
Cheers.....Paul